Tuesday, August 5, 2014

India commissions anchored underwater observatory in the Arctics

Geologically,
a fjord is a long, narrow inlet of water with steep sides or cliffs,
created by glacial erosion. Naturally majority of the fjords are
found near the arctic circle or on the coasts of Norway, Iceland,
Greenland, Alaska, British Columbia and Chile. Svalbard, is a
Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland
Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North
Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude,
and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island in Svalbard
is Spitsbergen. Administratively, the archipelago is not part of any
Norwegian county, but rather forms an unincorporated area
administered by a state-appointed governor. Importance of Svalbard
stems from the fact that it is the northernmost place in the world
with a permanent population.

Svalbard
archipelago features an Arctic climate, although with significantly
higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude. The flora
takes advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for
the polar night. Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and
also features polar bears, reindeer, and marine mammals. Seven
national parks and twenty-three nature reserves cover two-thirds of
the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched, yet fragile,
natural environment. Sixty percent of the archipelago is glacier, and
the islands feature many mountains and fiords.
Kongsfjorden-Krossfjorden and the adjacent West Spitsbergen Shelf
meet at the common mouth of the two fjord arms.

India's
ESSO-National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) and the
ESSO-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have been
continuously monitoring the Kongsfjorden since 2010 for understanding
response of the fjord to climate variability at different time
scales. The temperature and salinity profiles of the fjord, water
column nutrients and diversity of biota are being monitored at close
spatio-temporal scales throughout the spring-summer-fall seasons.
Indian scientists consider the data acquired of vital importance for
Indian climate research. In addition to providing for an increased
understanding of the response of the Arctic to climatic
variabilities, the data can also provide a good handle in our
understanding of the Arctic processes and their influence on the
Indian monsoon system through climate modelling studies.

Birds return to the fjord for breeding in summer

One of
the problems faced by Indian researchers has been the difficulty in
reaching the location during the harsh Arctic winters and obtain near
water surface data. Researchers felt a great need to know on how the
fjord system is influenced by, or responds to exchanges with the
water on the shelf and in the deep sea outside during an entire
annual seasonal cycle, in particular, continuous observations of the
water transport into the interior part of the fjord.

The
problem has now been solved as India has now established its first
multi-sensor moored or anchored observatory in the Kongsfjorden
fjord of the Arctic with an array of ten state-of-the-art
oceanographic sensors on board, strategically positioned at discrete
depths in the water column and programmed to collect real-time data
on seawater temperature, salinity, current and other vital parameters
of the fjord. The observatory, named as IndARC, has been anchored at
present at 78°57´ N 12°01´E , about 1100 km away from the North
Pole. At a depth of 192 meters.

INDARC
was placed in position with the help of the Norwegian Polar
Institute's research vessel R.V. Lance during its annual MOSJ-ICE
cruise to the Kongsfjorden area on July 23, 2014. An Indian team Team
led by Dr.Venkatesan deployed the observatory during this annual
cruise to the Kongsfjorden area. IndARC deployment at a polar mooring
can be certainly considered as a significant achievement and a
testimony to the capabilities of India's ESSO-National Centre for
Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) and the ESSO-National Institute
of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in designing, developing and installing
underwater observatories.